Sheltered Care Facility Size and the Social Integration of Mentally Ill Adults

This paper examines the effects of facility size on the social integration of mentally ill residents in community-based sheltered care homes. Big facilities have come to be associated with many problems (documented and otherwise) related to residential housing for mentally ill adults. However, this image of large, impersonal, and overly restrictive living environments is often not substantiated by the empirical research on sheltered care. Indeed, the present study of sheltered care homes in California finds a much more complex and varied situation. It suggests that homes of all sizes may offer many of the same opportunities for social interaction and that larger homes in some instances may possess certain advantages over smaller facilities.